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Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor

With the Forerunner 405, Garmin has finally put thepower of GPS location-based date into a sleek sport watch that can be worn all day. Runners no longer have to choose between function and fashion. Garmin's ANT + Sport wireless platform that wirelessly sends your data to your computer and a touch bezel that lets you change screens with a simple tap (no more fumbling for buttons) run make this not just a leap forward in GPS-enabled fitness devices, but in training devices period. Forerunner 405 comes in two color options — black or green.

The Power Of Location-Based Data
Anyone who has used Garmin's Forerunner 205 or 305 already understands the power that attaching location data to traditional measurements like distance, speed, time, calories burned, and heart rate can provide. Knowing exactly where you worked hardest, ran fastest (or most slowly), and lets you tailor your workouts to improve for specific distances, conditions, and types of terrain. It gives a complete picture of how you interact with every portion of your run.

Forerunner 405 comes in two color options — black or green

Train with a virtual partner

Watch Results
Loaded with serious training features, Forerunner 405 continuously monitors your time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate (when paired with heart rate monitor). Each run is stored in memory so you can review and analyze the data to see how you've improved.

The high-sensitivity GPS receiver sustains satellite reception, whether you’re tackling a trail or jogging through the urban canyons of skyscrapers. The Forerunner 405 is water-resistant (IPX7) and can be used outdoors or indoors (with an optional foot pod), making it the ultimate year-round, all-weather training tool.

Forerunner 405 is available with or without a heart rate monitor (see the versions tab) to help you make the most out of your training. Versions with a digital heart rate monitor continuously track heart beats per minute. Train in a certain heart rate zone to improve your fitness level or compare your pace and heart rate to past performance on the same run.

The revolutionary patent-pending touch bezel on the face of the watch makes navigating the options easier than ever. Simply by tapping, holding or running a finger along the bezel, runners can begin a new workout, access their training history or challenge a Virtual Partner. The Forerunner 405 makes training with a Virtual Partner easy and efficient. Runners can adjust the Virtual Partner’s pace without stopping in the middle of a workout, and the Virtual Partner is always on and ready for a challenge.

Run, Sync, Store and Share
One of Garmin's most ambitious decisions has been to approach fitness devices as a total platform with their "ANT + Sport" connectivity system. All of Garmin's new fitness devices, including the Forerunner 405, Edge 605 and 705 bike computers, and Forerunner 50 heart rate monitor watches, will interface wirelessly with any devices that are compatible wiht the "ANT + Sport" protocol, including devices from other manufacturers.

Once you’ve logged the miles, the ANT+Sport wireless technology automatically transfers data to your computer when the Forerunner is in range. No cables, no hookups. The data’s just there, ready for you to analyze, categorize and share through Garmin's online community, Garmin Connect or optional Garmin Training Center software. You can wirelessly send workouts from your computer to Forerunner, too.

Share Wirelessly
With Forerunner 405 you can share your locations, advanced workouts and courses wirelessly with other Forerunner 405 users. Now you can send your favorite workout to your buddy to try, or compete against a friend's recorded course. Sharing data is easy. Just select "transfer" to send your information to nearby units.

Cross-Train
Take your training inside with the versatile Forerunner 405. Pair it with an optional foot pod to track your speed, distance and running cadence indoors when a GPS signal is unavailable. This new design clips onto your laces for easy removal and automatically turns on when you start moving. You can also add a speed/cadence bike sensor to track the speed and distance of your cycling workouts.

Be Part of A Community
In 2007, Garmin acquired Motion-based, the largest shared repository of customer-generated gps-based routes, courses and maps. This was a significant move for Garmin to support the gps user community and bring a wealth of route options to gps users. With a simple connection to your computer, you can join a worldwide network of cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts through Garmin Connect our new, one-stop site for data analysis an sharing.

You can also upload to optional Garmin Training Center software for further analysis. Garmin Training Center stores large quanities of workout and ride data. Some of the things you can do are

• Review your workout data, including pace/speed, distance, time, calories burned; and if available, heart rate, cadence and detailed elevation.
• View a detailed graph of your workout data, plotted over time or distance.
• View a map of your workout that shows the exact path you traveled.
• Categorize your workout history according to type of activity.
• Review previous workouts, which are saved by day and week.
• Create customized workouts with specific goals and rest intervals. Then send them to your fitness device.*
• Schedule workouts for a specific day with calendar.
• Get custom workout templates designed by the experts at TrainingPeaks.com

What's In The Box
Forerunner 405, USB ANT stick, AC adapter, Charging clip, Owner's manual, Quick reference guide

$278.72

User Reviews about Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor

My husband bought this watch for running. It is full of great features and he loves it but the functionality is another story. I think the price is a little steep for a weekend watch. I disagree with the advert that this watch is sleek enough for everyday wear; it really cannot be considered a dress watch.

This watch excels at heart monitoring, pace, calories burned, run time and distance. It even keeps track of your information by allowing you to wirelessly connect to your pc when within range. We had some issues with this part but it is great when you get it to work properly since it allows you to track your progress and workouts are available for download. This watch also tracks your position using GPS and although it takes a while to lock your position, warming up before a run easily takes care of the time needed. Simply tap on the watch face to access the information needed. How cool is that? We looked at lower priced versions which have buttons instead but most of the same features Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor.

Bottom line, my husband has tried many different types of devices and loves this one despite some quirks. There are cheaper versions of this watch and I wish he had purchased one of them since he only uses it when he runs. When I questioned the purchase, he reminded me of all my shoes. He won that argument. -- GREAT FEATURES

Being a long time polar user i have struggled a bit learning to use the Garmin. Now that i am starting to get the hang of it i like the overall benefits of being able to map your workouts and the automatic measurements for distance and altitude. -- Making the transition

Background:

I've been thinking about getting a GPS running watch for quite some time and finally got tired of estimating my speed/distance using a regular watch and Map-My-Run (MMR). I did some relatively brief online research and quickly focused down to the Garmin 305 and Garmin 405. All the reviews seemed to point to the Garmin 305 (users just raved about it), but when I visited a local sports store, I couldn't get over the size factor of the 305 and so I decided to get the 405. This was even after a friend of mine (a 305 user) said not to get the 405.

Note: My greatest concern about purchasing the 405 was the "bezel". Many reviewers complained that it was difficult to use and that if it gets wet (i.e. from sweat), it is nearly impossible to activate.

Setup:

Out of the box, it took a little while (40 min) for me to learn about the majority functionality and tweak all the setting. This includes the time it took to figure out how to install the software and get it synced with the computer. It wasn't that difficult, but rather just needed to devote the time to doing it.

My Experience:

This all this said, so far, the Garmin 405 has exceeded my expectations and I am extremely happy with the purchase. My focus for getting the watch was to be able to monitor my speed, distance, and heart rate while running. The watch had delivered perfectly for this. I am also really enjoying the ability to quickly upload a workout to an online website (I prefer the online capabilities b/c I can access from both work and home).

As for the bezel, while it is a bit cumbersome to use, I STRONGLY recommend that when you run, you set the AUTO SCROLL function to "ON". This way, you don't need to even touch the bezel during your run. As an example, I have two data screens that are enabled:

1) Field #1: Time, Lap Pace, Distance
2) Heart-Rate: Heart Rate

(you can customize a bunch of fields and there are tons of different data that you can display)

By putting the auto scroll on, the watch display simply alternates between the two screens which is perfect for me. For an added benefit, you can "lock" the bezel so you don't inadvertantly change the display.

Other Thoughts:

The watch has a lot of functionality that I have still figuring out / exploring. As an example, I created a run using MMR and have been able to export it to the watch. This is a pretty neat feature (as it actually gives you directions on how to follow the track you mapped out). There is also a "Virtual Parnter" feature (haven't yet used), but also seems interesting.

In terms of battery, it's not bad (can used a few times before requiring a charge).

Overall:

Highly recommend it. Reasons why I didn't give it 5 stars was because complexity of setup...
-- Great purchase so far!

My sport is trekking and nearby my city I've from rather small hills to over 20,000 feet high mountains. I wanted a device that could keep track of my trekking activities during weekends and also the training (running and biking) needed during the week to prepare for long mountain journeys. The outdoor GPS aren't designed for running or biking especially because they lack heart rate monitors. So I bought the Garmin 405 with high expectations.
My doubts were not only the mixed reports I saw, but also if it would perform reasonably for the trekking activities.
My experience has been:
1.Accuracy: The GPS is very accurate, both in the city and mountains when you see afterwards the tracks in Google Earth it shows perfectly the streets, routes were you have been. Also compared to other devices the coordinates and altitude have been within a reasonable margin (difference below 5 meters). Also I have tested the heart rate monitor accuracy comparing it with other devices and also with a simple watch and always had precise measures.
2.Bezel: Takes some time to getting use to it. You have to attempt different pressures, changing finger can help too. Also try with different sensitivity settings until you find the way through. However, is not easy to maneuver while running or biking, but also in my opinion not necessary. Most of what you need can be set previously. I put the scroll feature in slow and set the information I needed in the screens using 2 fields (so they are easier to read). In training 1 I set actual time and timer time, training 2 I put distance and elevation, in HR I set heart and average lap heart rate and in training 3 I set it off, but there are multiple fields still to choose from. Also I set the watch with autolap every 500 meters. While actually doing my sport activity I manage the bezel locked to prevent unwanted view switching, and can watch all my relevant data while it scrolls. I highly recommend taking time at home in the setup stage of the device to avoid maneuvers during the activity.
3.Battery life: This has been an issue for me. The Garmin has performed exactly as it was advertised, about one week if used as a common watch (energy saving); 8 hours with GPS and heart monitor on. While this is O.K. for most biking and running activities as long as you remember to charge it completely after the activities is not enough for trekking activities, since many mountain journeys can be up to 10 or 12 hours. Could be better, but you get what is advertised.
4.Size: Great, is a big watch men can wear all the time. For women the same is not quite true.
5.Connection: I needed some patience, it took a few attempts until I had the devices paired and working and not any trouble after that.
6.Software: The Training Center works has the basic features to view your results, set workout and route. If you want a detailed comparison of the performance and hopefully your progress in you training I have found that exporting the track from Training Center as a .TCX file and then read it from excel. It brings all the necessary fields and then you have all the excel tools to analyze the files, draw your own, compute correlation ratios between variables, etcetera.

Ease of use is matter of finding the way though, features you either have them or not, I think the garmin 405 has the right features for all my sport activities.
-- Outsanding features